Reducing Toxins and Increasing Fertility

I’ll be honest with you – this is a subject I have avoided for quite some time because it scares the shit out of me.

You know those people who figure they’ll deal with the fall-out from whatever chemicals they put into their bodies later? Or those who assume that the people in charge are looking after us, so they put their heads in the sand and ignore the research? I was one of them until recently.

I’m no expert on the subject of toxins or chemicals, however, over the last couple of months, I’ve been talking to people who know a lot more about this subject than I do. And it really has demystified a few things for me.

It has also shown me how much impact toxins really do have on our body INCLUDING OUR FERTILITY.

We usually just assume that our irregular cycles, painful periods, erratic hormone levels and our lack of energy are just normal. But it’s not normal. It’s common. And common definitely does not mean it’s normal.

So I’m going to attempt to give you some facts and also some solutions in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you. Because in order for me to make the swap to toxic-free, it needs to be simple, understandable, and affordable.

FACT #1 – In the last 50-100 years there have been approximately 85,000 chemicals introduced into our environment and products. 90% of them have never been tested.

EEEEKKKKKK!!!!

FACT #2 - Whatever you put on your skin, including any chemicals or endocrine-disrupting chemicals (which are known to cause hormone imbalances), are absorbed into your bloodstream in about 26 seconds.

FACT #3 – the toxins we are exposed to affect our fertility and our ability to fall pregnant and have a healthy baby.

This isn’t meant to scare you, but make you aware, so you can take action and make informed choices.

As part of my Infertility Unfiltered series over on YouTube, I spoke to Crystal Leochko, Fertility Doula & Coach at Fertility Blooms as well as the founder of Bloomiss, a clean natural line of beauty, aromatherapy and skincare products to help women kick the toxins out of their daily lives.

We discussed the top 3 chemicals you should avoid in your personal care products. These chemicals have been known to cause miscarriage, cancer, hormonal imbalances in both men and women and birth defects.

You can watch our full interview here.

FACT #4 – Not all labelling on products is transparent.

I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called STINK. It talks about the lack of control and transparency in product labelling. Especially when we’re talking about fragrance. There is a major loophole when it comes to anything with a perfume. Manufacturers can hide dozens of chemicals in one ingredient because it’s trademarked.

Don’t believe me? Go and have a look at any of your products – washing powder, shampoo, deodorant. I bet they have FRAGRANCE or PERFUME listed on the ingredients. And who knows what’s included in there!

If I ever see fragrance listed in the ingredients on a product now, I try to avoid it.

Anyway, I’m not going to go into it too deeply here, but I recommend you watch the documentary. It’s completely enlightening.

So if you can’t trust the consumer watchdogs, and you don’t have a degree in chemistry or toxicity (if there is even such a thing), what do you do?

This was another barrier of me converting to toxic-free. How on earth are we supposed to know what is safe and what isn’t? If you look on the shelves, products may be labelled as organic, or paraben-free or vegan, but what else is included?

FACT #5 – you don’t have to be an expert to find out what is safe and what is not.

Find a store or a brand you trust. Empower yourself and do your research.

Or you can check out these websites for recommendations – www.ewg.org or www.chemicalmaze.com

Another great option is to make your products yourself and save money in the process. I spoke to Lauren Olsen from Flourish Essential Wellness who provided this DIY guide for how you can make your own household products.

One of the other reasons I have resisted looking into how I can reduce the level of toxins I’m exposed to, was because I saw it as such a huge and overwhelming task. But it doesn’t have to be.

FACT #6 – you don’t have to switch everything all at once.

You can start slowly. Substituting one product at a time. One room at a time.

In my interview with Laura Ortner from Naturally LB we discussed some simple swaps you can make to remove the toxins in your house and increase your fertility. You can watch the full interview here.

And here is a toxic guide to go room by room with product replacements.

So there you go.

This is a guide to get you started. So you can make informed decisions and take the first step to live a toxic-free life, balancing your hormones, improving your fertility and increasing your chances of a healthy pregnancy.

Good luck!!